Summit Securities Group LLC Buys Shares of 11,634 Autoliv, Inc. $ALV

Key Points

• Summit Securities Group LLC has purchased a new stake in Autoliv, Inc. worth approximately $1,029,000, acquiring 11,634 shares during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Algert Global LLC and American Century Companies Inc., have significantly increased their stakes in Autoliv, reflecting growing institutional confidence in the company.
• Autoliv has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.85 per share, up from $0.70, and has initiated a stock buyback plan allowing it to repurchase up to $2.50 billion worth of shares.

Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in Autoliv, Inc. (NYSE:ALV - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,634 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALV. SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Autoliv by 122.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 370 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Autoliv in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Autoliv by 63.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 678 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Autoliv by 188.6% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 788 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. 69.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALV. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (up previously from $105.00) on shares of Autoliv in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Autoliv from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Autoliv from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Autoliv from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Autoliv from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.64.

Autoliv Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of ALV stock traded up $0.0440 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $119.8840. The stock had a trading volume of 429,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,808. Autoliv, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.49 and a 12-month high of $120.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $114.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.39.

Autoliv (NYSE:ALV - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The auto parts company reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.14. Autoliv had a return on equity of 30.73% and a net margin of 6.83%.The firm had revenue of $2.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Autoliv, Inc. will post 9.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Autoliv Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This is a boost from Autoliv's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Autoliv's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Autoliv declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase up to 31.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jan Carlson sold 1,555 shares of Autoliv stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.32, for a total transaction of $168,437.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,493 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,394,041.76. This trade represents a 1.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Autoliv

Autoliv, Inc, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and supplies passive safety systems to the automotive industry in Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, and rest of Asia. It offers passive safety systems, including modules and components for frontal-impact airbag protection systems, side-impact airbag protection systems, seatbelts, steering wheels, and inflator technologies.